Champions League: Jose Mourinho rues missed chances in Schalke draw
Thursday 18 September 2014 10:10, UK
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was left to rue missed chances after his side were held to a 1-1 draw by Schalke in the Champions League.
Chelsea, who have won all four of their Premier League games to date saw their 100 per cent start to the season ended by the German side.
Cesc Fabregas set Chelsea on their way with his first goal for the club in the first half and they missed further chances to make the game safe.
The home side were made to pay for their prolificacy as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored in the second half to earn Schalke a point and Mourinho felt they should have put the game beyond Schalke before Huntelaar's leveller.
"Yes I think we did enough to win we had chances to score 2-0 before the 1-1 and after 1-1 we had more than a couple of fantastic chances to win the game but we couldn’t win.
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"But we have a point, we didn't lose which is not the best result but it is a result - it is a point."
Mourinho singled out the missed chances for Fabregas in the first half when he blazed over the top and Didier Drogba in the second half when he dragged his shot across the face of goal.
"I think we had great chances to score the second goal," added Mourinho.
"I remember clearly Fabregas in the first half and Didier [Drogba] in the second half.
"2-0 the game is over and probably we are speaking about three or four, but we didn't and that's football.
"In the second half they scored and we had a good reaction so nothing to complain with my players, nothing at all."
Mourinho also backed Drogba to bounce back from a disappointing night in front of goal for the veteran striker.
"He did a positive game, he had a good contribution. Imagine he scores that goal by inches and we are speaking about 2-0 and we are speaking about Didier scoring again in the Champions League but football is about this.
"He has lots of experience, for sure he is not now crying because of that miss he is stable, he is confident we all are confident."
Mourinho also revealed Diego Costa did not start on the bench in a bid to rest him ahead of Sunday's massive clash with Manchester City revealing the Spain international is not fit enough to play three games in a week.
"He is not in condition to play three matches in a week," noted Mourinho.
"In this moment he has problems when he plays one game he needs a week to recover and to be in conditions to start the next game and now matches Tuesdays, Wednesdays he can't do it so today he was not in conditions to do more than what he did.
"If he starts the game maybe I have to change after 20, 25 minutes I was not thinking about Sunday I was thinking about today; simply he was not in best condition to play."